Do Farmers Get Paid to Have Solar Panels on Their Land?

Yes, in two main ways:

1. Leasing land to a developer. A developer builds, owns, and runs the solar farm on your land, and pays you an annual rent, typically around £850 to £1,200 per acre per year, usually on a long-term, index-linked lease. This route needs no capital outlay from you and the developer takes on the running costs.
2. Installing your own solar system. If you install panels on your own farm buildings or land, you can be paid for any electricity you export to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee.

Which route pays more depends heavily on your farm’s energy usage, your appetite for capital investment, and your land’s suitability for a larger installation, so it’s worth having a conversation with us about your specific site.